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Five deserving candidates who missed out on a chance as India's squad for Australia ODIs raises further questions
India announces a streamlined ODI squad for Australia, omitting big names, indicating a shift towards building a long-term team.
India named a streamlined 15 for the three-match ODI series in Australia, with Shubman Gill taking over the captaincy and both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the side as specialist batters. The list is short on experimentation as the management concentrates on building a strong pool of players for the WC in 2027. This means that some familiar names and fan-favourites failed to make the cut.
Ravindra Jadeja
The biggest omission from the ODI squad was the veteran all-rounder. Ajit Agarkar stated that taking two left-arm spin bowling all-rounders to Australia did not fit the balance, with Washington Sundar and Kuldeep Yadav in the spin department alongside Axar Patel. Although Agarkar stressed the fact that Ravindra Jadeja is still in the plans, his exclusion headlined the squad announcement.
Mohammed Shami
Mohammed Siraj is back in the one-day fold as he finds himself in the squad that is due to travel to Australia. Along with Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh, and Harshit Rana are the other pace bowling options for India on the tour. This meant that Mohammed Shami’s name was missing from the 15, indicating the fact that India are looking to build a pace battery of youngsters who can serve for a long time in the future rather than banking on experienced names.
Sanju Samson
The wicket-keeper batter has been squeezed out due to role clarity. KL Rahul remains India’s first choice wicket-keeper in ODIs, and Dhruv Jurel has been preferred as the back-up for his middle-order utility. Sanju Samson remains a part of the T20I set-up, but misses out on the ODI squad. It is a tough call, but consistent with the management’s vision of fixing the batting slots around Rahul-Iyer-Kohli.
Tilak Varma
The left-handed batter played the innings of a lifetime in the Asia Cup 2025 final. After his heroics, many expected him to be a part of the ODI set-up. However, for now, Tilak Varma remains in the T20I group but not in the ODIs. With Rohit and Kohli back, Axar and Sundar doubling as floaters, and Jaiswal offering a left-hand top-order option, the ODI middle order had no chair to spare.
Varun Chakaravarthy
One of the mainstays of Indian bowling in the shortest format of international cricket, an ODI slot eludes Varun Chakaravarthy. The mystery spinner did a brilliant job with the ball in the Asia Cup 2025, and one expected him to be fast-tracked into the ODI set-up. However, India have opted for Kuldeep Yadav as the lone specialist spinner for the Australia tour, and for now, Chakaravarthy stays on the fringe for this format.
India’s 15 for the ODIs in Australia screams role clarity. This narrows the room for even high-profile names or talented performers. These five players currently don’t fit the specific puzzle, but their 2027 relevance varies. While Jadeja and Shami stay in the plans of the management, Samson battles a role lock; Tilak and Varun keep their case alive via their T20I performances.
One other name that could have been in the discussion is Abhishek Sharma. However, with Rohit Sharma still in India’s scheme of things and Shubman Gill taking over the captaincy, there was not much chance for Abhishek getting a call-up in the ODIs.
